With a revamped tactics system and an exciting new mode, EA FC 25 makes notable progress, although this is tempered by persistent issues and minimal enhancements in other areas.
By Richard WakelingTwitter on September 27, 2024 at 1:26PM PDT
Upon launching EA Sports FC 25 for the first time, you are welcomed by the iconic Zinedine Zidane. The legendary French player and multi-Champions League-winning manager is eager to highlight the importance of tactics in an introductory video that resembles the start of a Football Manager game more than EA’s latest football simulation. This is due to the introduction of FC IQ, which places Player Roles at the forefront, fundamentally changing the tactical framework of the series. It’s a major shift that, along with the new Rush mode, gives EA FC 25 two significant features to promote. However, aside from these, advancements in the game’s on-field mechanics and the variety of game modes are either minimal or absent, giving the impression of a series that is only making incremental progress.
FC IQ serves as the primary engine driving the advancements in EA FC 25. The previous tactics system has been replaced by a flexible array of new Player Roles that offer greater variety in how your team operates. Consequently, the tactical elements applied across the team have been simplified, allowing you just to set the depth of your defensive line and choose a build-up style based on short passing, countering, or a balanced approach. Once a strategy and formation are selected, you can allocate specific roles to each player to clearly define the team’s identity, weighing the potential risks and rewards of various roles and their effects on the collective performance.
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When it comes to player positioning, each position is defined by various Player Roles that dictate how a player behaves when not in possession, whether your team has the ball or not. Take a central midfielder, for example; they can take on one of five roles, spanning from a playmaker to a half winger. The half winger role is a new addition, allowing your central midfielder to drift wide—akin to Kevin De Bruyne’s style at Manchester City. This strategy enables you to create overloads on one side of the pitch or deliver precise crosses from a more skilled passer than a regular winger or fullback. Consequently, this opens up more opportunities for chance creation and adds an extra layer of strategy for your tactical planning, making the entire process more immersive.
Furthermore, each role typically has a Focus that influences how a player performs within that role. You can configure a half winger to adopt a balanced approach, splitting their efforts evenly between attack and defense, or grant them greater freedom to prioritize offensive play by reducing their defensive duties.
To occupy the open space in the midfield, you might consider utilizing one of your fullbacks in the new falseback role, which allows them to move centrally, effectively acting as an additional midfielder when your team is on the attack. However, it’s important to note that not all fullbacks can perform this specialized role effectively. No player is ideally suited for every role even in their preferred position, and that’s where Role Familiarity comes into play. For instance, Vinícius Júnior can effectively operate as a winger without compromising his skills, but shifting him to a role where he excels, like an inside forward, enhances his tactical awareness and positional intelligence, resulting in well-timed runs and quicker transitions from defense to offense.
This dynamic makes forming a team in Career mode or Ultimate Team more captivating than ever. Should you craft a tactic and then locate players to fit that plan? Or should you prioritize placing players in their preferred roles, even if it disrupts the overall structure of your squad? These crucial decisions introduce additional complexity to team-building, extending beyond simple attributes like speed and shooting capability.
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The choice of formation you pick—whether it’s 3-5-2, 4-3-3, or anything similar—shapes how your team will defend. The Player Roles within this formation may keep the same structure when shifting to attack or change into something different altogether. Thankfully, there’s a convenient toggle that indicates how your players will position themselves both on and off the ball, which significantly increases the variety of teams you’ll encounter. You can face two teams utilizing the same formation, but variations in how they customize each Player Role often lead to noticeable differences in their playing style.
Introducing more diversity in player movement and positioning is excellent, especially when EA FC 25 doesn’t feel drastically different from the previous installment. While the overall tempo of the game tends to be slower at the beginning of the annual cycle, and the introduction of new animations—especially during shooting—creates some memorable moments and goals, it doesn’t quite mark a notable advancement. There remains a solid football experience, but enhancements are merely incremental, and the game still grapples with several long-standing issues. Tackling and player switching feel inconsistent, goalkeepers offer frustratingly erratic performances—making spectacular saves only to let in shots aimed right at them—and relying on skill moves often proves more effective than intricate passing to break through defenses. It’s unfortunate that these issues persist.
To compound the situation, the input delay affecting online matches introduces a frustrating and sluggish gameplay experience against other players. Interestingly, this doesn’t occur in the new Rush mode, but competing in Rivals matches in Ultimate Team feels laborious. Even the menus suffer from similar lag, creating a choppy experience that makes navigating around menu-dependent modes like Career and Ultimate Team quite irritating. I’ve also encountered several crashes on PS5, particularly when attempting to open new packs in the store and after matches conclude.
On a brighter note, akin to FC IQ, Rush emerges as a fantastic new feature in the series, taking the place of Volta with quick five-a-side matches (one AI goalkeeper and four field players) that guarantee thrilling action and plenty of goals. These five-minute games are held on a smaller pitch and follow a distinct set of rules. For example, kick-offs resemble those from Rocket League, with both teams lined up in their respective halves before the ball is released from the center circle, prompting a frantic rush for possession. Additionally, offsides only apply within the final third, and red cards have been substituted with blue ones that send the offending player to the sin bin for a minute. It’s chaotic fun and sufficiently different from standard matches to offer a refreshing change of pace.
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Rush is featured in Kick Off, Career, Ultimate Team, and Clubs, offering various gameplay options. In Career mode, it is utilized for youth tournaments, enabling you to play as your top talents and enhance their skills before they are ready for the main team. In Ultimate Team, you can join drop-in matches with three random players or play alongside friends, selecting one player from your club to control. Occasionally, there are limitations on the player choices, and you are encouraged to select players from specific leagues and nations for bonus points that contribute to the XP for the season pass. Drop-in matches can be unpredictable regarding the quality of teammates. While some players may avoid defending or passing, others might not understand the offside rule. With only four players on each team, a single misstep can disrupt the game, making it more enjoyable to team up with friends whenever possible.
Besides the addition of youth tournaments, Career mode has received enhancements in several aspects. You now have greater flexibility in personalizing the experience, including adjusting the board’s expectations for leniency and controlling the pace of player development. If you opt for the simulation gameplay type, you will also face challenging weather conditions. A windy day can alter the ball’s path, while heavy rain can make ground passes faster and cause players to slip occasionally. While it’s unfortunate that these weather effects are absent in online matches, balancing the gameplay takes priority.
The long-awaited introduction of several prominent women’s leagues is another appreciated feature in Career mode. You can even initiate a Player Career as one of the game’s Icons, although it’s somewhat peculiar that the options are limited to only four given the many available in Ultimate Team. Nevertheless, who wouldn’t want to kick off a Career with Thierry Henry leading the attack for Stevenage? Though these may seem like minor enhancements, they are still positive changes.
As for Ultimate Team, EA’s lucrative mode has seen only a few modifications, and unfortunately, they are not particularly favorable. The rewards for accumulating wins in Rivals have been reduced, despite the increased requirement of winning 15 matches in a week compared to the previous seven. This represents a considerable time investment, especially when considering other objectives you may aim to complete across Rush, Squad Battles, and Friendlies. Furthermore, qualifying for Champions—where the best rewards are located—is now limited to the top-tier players. Previously, a player only needed to win four out of ten games to qualify. Now, winning three out of five matches is necessary for a spot in the finals, a change that feels motivated by the mode’s pay-to-win mechanics. Those who spend more are more likely to access the top rewards.
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There’s a lot to appreciate about EA FC 25, including the revamped tactics, the chaotic addition of Rush, and several welcome enhancements to Career mode. Yet, it doesn’t mark a definitive triumph. The on-field gameplay has hit a standstill, retaining its quality but also many of its shortcomings, while changes to Ultimate Team seem somewhat antagonistic in style. In the near future, there is hope for resolutions to issues like input lag and its tendency to crash, though the same is probably not true for its long-standing challenges. Ultimately—to echo common football terminology—there’s enjoyment to be found in EA FC 25, particularly if you liked last year’s installment, but instead of making a significant advance, it seems comfortable in midtable territory.
